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If you want to win more business, listings, and clients in commercial real estate, then you should implement a ‘farming’ process where you can cultivate relationships with the right people and across the right property types. Some of those relationships take months if not years to bring in the results, so establish the process of new business ‘farming’ for the full duration of your career. (NB – you can get plenty of real estate prospecting tips in Snapshot right here – it’s free)

Targeting of your communication, prospecting, and marketing works in the industry. The process is personal and direct. Understand your location and territory from a brokerage and business perspective. Cultivate the relationships with people and properties.

Proven Real Estate ‘Farming’ Techniques

Here are some proven ways you can get this ‘farming’ process underway:

Segment your database before you start connecting – you are going to be talking to plenty of people so have your database ready to use. Segment it into zones, property types, sales or leasing activity, and business or owner types. Look at all the variations of your prospecting communications with people, and then have some criteria set in your database for capturing the information gleaned in conversations and meetings.

Capture everything through logical prospecting and keep the connections running – some opportunities take a very long time to develop, so the first communication is just that, and it should continue for the long term. Regular communication allows relationships to grow over time.

Target streets, buildings, and owners – when you consider a zone of properties, a deeper investigation will reveal opportunities and relationships. Stay specific and logical in your business prospecting to find those things. Work with the people that are of ‘high value’ and or those that are highly motivated to do something in a commercial and or retail property. Look for the motivations, and you will find the business.

Control your listing stock and marketing – when you spend a good degree of your day prospecting for listings and clients, the last thing that you should do is accept an ‘open’ listing. Protect your time in all respects and only accept an ‘open’ listing if it is the last resort in converting an opportunity. Insist on ‘exclusivity’ before you take on the listing, and then ask for vendor paid marketing as part of the process. If the client is ‘serious’ about their property challenge, these requirements will not be difficult to convert.

Develop location marketing – a new listing should be taken directly to the local area of property owners and business owners. One listing will lead to others if you follow the logic and process. Market all your property services and listings on a location basis with a bias towards qualified people and businesses. When you are specific in your marketing locally, the whole listing process and then the transaction conversions get a lot easier.

Spread the word about your successes – any successful transaction should be spoken about and communicated locally. Use letters, editorials, internet articles, social media, and telephone marketing to spread the word about something that would interest local people. In that way, you can ‘brand’ yourself as the industry leader.

So, there are some good things to do here with the growth of market share in commercial real estate brokerage. Some agents will do a few things randomly, but only the disciplined top agents will cover all the issues mentioned here. You have choices if you want to win new business in commercial property. Make the right choices and get active in cultivating your real estate business.